Separable slider for slide fasteners



Aprifl 1968 B. L. SNYDER 3,376,617

SEPARABLE SLIDER FOR SLIDE FASTENERS Filed April 18, 1.967

INVENTOR, BENJAMIN L. SNYDER ATTORNEY 3,376,617 SEYARABLE SLIDER FGR LIDE FASTENERS Benjamin L. Snyder, Union, N.J., assignor to Pentapco, Ina, Elizabeth, N1, a corporation of New Jersey Filed Apr. 18, 1967, Ser. No. 631,768 3 Claims. (Cl. 24-40515) ABSTRAQT 6F THE DKSCLOSURE Two plate members with appropriate flanges afford the slider guideway through which the stringers thread from separated position at the top of the slider to an interlocking position at the bottom of the slider. These plates are held together by a screw which clamps them on the stringers. A flat arcuate handle is pivotally mounted on said screw on an axis parallel to the plates. This handle is in the form of a mutilated gear with successive teeth to one side of said axis. A fixed support projecting from the plate on the side where the handle is pivoted, is adapted to enter between two successive teeth of the handle when the handle is swung against the plate; said support having a notch into which the tooth can come when the handle is shifted in its own plane, and when the tooth is so entered, it will be in frictional contact in said notch.

SPECIFICATION The present invention relates to a slider for interlocking stringer fasteners commonly known as zippers. The body of this slider is made of two parts, one presenting the front wall and the other the rear wall of the slider. These parts are held together by a screw, so the slider may be disassembled and thus removed from the fastener at any point on the stringer where it may happen to be caught or frozen, and of course, it is capable of being remounted in proper operative association with the stringer. All these manipulations are accomplished without the aid of any tool, because said screw has a flat handle swingable about an axis along the outer surface of the front wall of the slider body, which handle in the slider assembly is normally face-to-face with said front wall, and hence in a plane perpendicular to the screw axis. To turn the screw with ease, its handle is first swung a quarter turn so the plane of said handle is perpendicular to the said front wall, and includes the axis line of the screw. An example of such structure is shown in my Patent No. 2,681,491, for which my present invention is an improvement, particularly with respect to means to keep the screw from being accidentally turned, as heretofore did occur at times during the laundering, dry-cleaning and ironing of the garment the slide fastener was on, or upon other rough handling thereof, and it is this prevention which is the principal object of this invention.

It should be noted that a feature of the slider set forth in my said patent, and utilize herein, is that the adjustment of tension on the slider is entirely without any spring element and is wholly controlled by the position of the said fastening screw which maintains the assembly of the two slider parts which can be positively held together with the desired tolerance between parts. The importance .of my present invention which safeguards against accidental turning of said assembly screw, is therefore apparent.

Another object of the present invention is to provide in a slider structure of the character described, a novel and improved means which permits the screws handle no swing movement from its set position in face-to-face relation with the front wall of the slider body. In my previous device, said handle was not prevented from being swung up. So when it did occur, the violent actions States atent thereagainst occuring then in laundering, dry-cleaning and pressing operations, would cause the screw to turn and sometimes its handle would be broken off. In any event, any small turn of the screw after its proper setting, will disrupt its accurate adjustment made to provide perfect sliding action. These objectionable happenings are positively avoided by my present invention.

A further object is to provide a novel and improved screw turning prevention means in these sliders, which is simple in construction, cheap to include and efficient in carrying out the purpose for which they are designed.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent as this disclosure proceeds.

For the practice of this invention, the slider comprises two plate members forming front and back walls with inwardly extending side flanges forming the sides of the slider guide way through which the stringers thread from a separated position at the top of the slider to an interlocking position at the bottom of the slider. Complementary inter-engaging means project respectively from the inside surfaces of said plates at the central regions thereof, hold said plates in proper position with respect to each other, and form the inner side walls of the entering guide way for the separate stringer parts. The assembly screw is through said interengaging elements and has an arcuate flat swingable handle of the form of a mutilated gear forward of the front plate. Said handle is set in a plane perpendicular to said plates when the screw is to be turned with ease, and is swung to lie parallel to said front plate, for its normal non-use position. In an eyelet extending from the front surface of the front plate, in which eyelet the pull tab is swingably engaged, I provide a notch. Said eyelet can fit into the space between any two successive teeth of the handle member, when the handle is swung towards it, and the handle can be turned in its own plane when in such position, so a tooth shall enter said notch and be in frictional engagement therewith. The handle so placed, cannot be swung or accidentally turned to free the engaged tooth.

In the accompanying drawing forming part of this specification, similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the back piece of the slider. I

FIG. 2 is a similar view of the sliders front piece.

FIG. 3 is a rear view of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view .of the assembly screw and its swingable handle.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a usual pull tab before it is mounted on a support element provided on the front wall of the front piece.

FIG. 6 is a front view of the slider; the screws handle being shown in position, just before it is to be shifted to be engaged so it is held from swinging up.

FIG. 7 is a view like FIG. 6, but here, the handle is engaged so it is prevented from swinging up:

FIG. 8 is an enlarged section taken at line 8-8 in FIG. 6, except that the said handle is shown free of its locking means.

In the drawing, the numeral 15 indicates generally the slider which comprises two main parts of corresponding shape. One of them is the front element indicated generally as 16, and the other is the back element denoted generally as 17. These form substantially interlocking but separate halves of the slider case. The element 16 has a front plate section or wall 18 which may be rounded at the top as indicated at 19, and tapered to a reduced width at the sides 20, 2% to a bottom transverse end 21. In the description to follow, the top of the slider and of the halves is the end of the slider case from which the open stringer emerges. Projecting normally from the front wall 18 in a rearward direction at the side edges 20, 20', are the flanges 22 and 23 respectively. Complementary flanges 22, 23" project normally from the rear wall section 24 in a forwardly direction from the side edges 25, 25', of the element 17. When said halves are assembled by means of the screw 26, they are spaced as shown in FIG. 8. The inner surfaces of said flanges and walls provide the guide ways by which the fasteners are interlocked with one another as is well known. Said front half 16 may be provided with any usual type of pull tab 27, which is hingedly mounted in a eyelet 28 extending from the front surface of. the slider. Said pull tab may be provided with the pintles 27' which are pinched to be entered into the hole 29 of the eyelet. Said tab may also have the usual prong 30, arranged to project through a slot 31 in the wall 18, whereby the slider 15 may be locked in place when the pull tab is down, so it cannot be moved until said tab has been raised to bring said prong out of said slot 31, as is well known.

In the embodiment illustrated, the front and back halves are each individual elements and not subject to be pried apart to lessen tension, as in a one-piece slider with walls bent in parallel relation. These are, however, held together with interfitting elements located along the central median line in the slider. As indicated, on the inside of the back half 17 there is a shieldshape boss 32 having a square socket 33 into which slidably fits the square boss 34 which projectsfrom the inner surface of the front half 16. Below the socket 33, in the boss 32, is a threaded hole 35, which when the parts are assembled, is in alignment with a clear hole in the half 16, as indicated at 36. The headed screw 37 has a flat arcuate handle 68 which. is of a mutilated gear form, having pintles 38' revolvably fitted in a hole which is transversely through the head of said screw, and hence such handle is swingable. The threaded shank of said screw is passed through said hole 36 and turned to be threadedly engaged in the threaded hole 35, to attain the required tension on the stringer. It is to be noted that the slider halves are spaced in assembly, thus affording change in the tension effected. The tab-supporting eye 28 can fit between any two successive teeth of the handle 38, when the latter is swung down to lie on the wall 18, as is shown in FIG. 6, and when in such position, said handle can be shifted in its own plane whereby a tooth as indicated at 40, is entered in the notch 41, provided in the top of the eyelet body, as is shown in FIG. 7. The notch size is such that when a tooth is therein, the handle 38 is securely held in a frictional grip therein, sufiicient to avoid its accidental displacement, and of course, said handle is held against upward swing.

In the use of the device as described above, the slider is applied to the line of fasteners in the normal fashion. The handle 38 is positioned to contain the axis of its screw in its plane, so the screw can be turned to a position where the two halves 16 and 17 are not tightly held together, which might be half a turn or a turn short of the ultimate desired position. In this condition, the slider will still close the fasteners so as to permit it to line itself up properly. The screw should then be turned the bit required to attain proper tension, and the handle 38 swung down flat in a position as shown in FIG. 6, so the tab-mounting eyelet 28 is between two teeth as 40, 40. Then said handle is shifted in its own plane to turn the screw a bit more, so the tooth 40 shall enter the notch 41. The slight fractional turn to bring said tooth 40 into symmetry with the eyelet, should cause a good frictional grip on such tooth against the notch wall, and the width of such notch should be proper to accomplish this. As mentioned, said frictional hold on said tooth 40 will prevent accidental shifting of said handle 38 in its own plane, and it is evident that said tooth 40, so positioned in the notch as shown in FIG. 7, will keep said handle from swinging movement about the axis of its pintles 38.

For general information regarding this type of separable slider, reference is made to my said patent which may be consulted for its advantages and incidents of operation and use.

This invention is capable of numerous forms without departing from the features herein disclosed. It is therefore intended and desired that the embodiment shown herein shall be deemed merely illustrative and not re-, strictive and that the patent shall cover all patentable novelty herein set forth; reference being had to the following claims rather than to the specific description herein, to indicate the scope of this invention.

I claim:

1. In a slider for interlocking stringer fasteners, of the type comprising two plate members forming front and back walls with inwardly extending s-ide flanges forming the sides of the slider guide way through which the stringers thread from a separated position at the top of the slider to an interlocking position at the bottom of the slider, means projecting from the inside of said plates in the central region thereof at the top of the slider having complementary engaging elements spacing and interlock ing said plates and forming the inner side walls of the entering guide way for the separate stringer parts and a clamping screw having a threaded shank passing through one of said plates in said central region and engaging an,

aligned threaded hole in said projecting means in the central region of the other plate thereby holding said plates together, the improvement consisting of a fiat arcuate handle pivotally mounted on said screw on an axis parallel to said one plate; said handle being in the form of a mutilated gear-form having a series of successive teeth to one side of said axis, and a fixed support projecting from the plate on the side where said arcuate handle is pivoted; said support including a lateral notch facing said handle, said support being positioned to enter between two successive teeth when said pivoted handle is turned down in a flat position on said plate, and when so positioned, said pivoted handle is adapted to be shifted in its own plane so one of the teeth at one side of said support shall enter said notch provided in said support.

2. The device as defined in claim 1, wherein said sup:

port is an eye, and including a pull tab element engaging said eye.

*3. The device as defined in claim 1, wherein said notch is so positioned on said support, that a tooth entered,

therein is frictionally engaged thereby.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,681,491 6/1954 Snyder.

BERNARD A. GELAK, Primary Examiner. 

